


Eternal longing

by GravityUndefined



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Curses, Demons, Internal Conflict, M/M, Priest Bill, Reincarnation, Religion, Religious Conflict, Saints, Seduction, Slow Burn, black magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 12:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9607619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GravityUndefined/pseuds/GravityUndefined
Summary: Bill Cipher hasn’t always been the triangular demon he is now. He used to be the most faithful priest in Oregon you could imagine. But the pureness in his soul started wavering when the Pines twins moved to his quiet town. Like every good family, they attended church every Sunday and came to confess their sins regularly. But little did the Pines boy know, he was distracting the priest from his readings. But his only solace was now turning against Cipher, cursing him for eternity.Discover how Bill Cipher spirals down a path of utter madness, love, lust, desperation, reincarnation and eternal longing. Where even saints aren’t what they seem.





	1. Righteous man

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I got while listening to a cover of Hellfire by Jonathan Young. I hope you enjoy this story :)

The slender figure of the priest moved through the small church in Gravity Falls, Oregon. He was lighting all the blessed candles as the sun started showing its first rays of light. The stained windows came to life and the interior started burning in color. Soon enough the people of this quiet mountain town would come streaming in for the morning service. Lighting the last candle, the priest looked up to the cross behind the altar and smiled. Today would be a good day, he was sure of that.

His slender figure moved to the big brown doors, unlocked them and opened them up wide to welcome those who came. Outside of the doors was a small rock trail, surrounded by bright green grass and beautiful white flowers. It was quite a few feet before the tree line announced the woods surrounding the town. He was pulled from the mesmerizing sight by the sound of footsteps on pebbles. With a smile on his face he nodded his head as he greeted the first man coming to his church, every morning it was the same man.

“Father.” The man greeted politely.

“Good morning mister McGucket, how are we today?” He stepped aside from the trail to let the aging man pass.

“Doing good, father. I can feel age catching up but I won’t let it beat me that easily!”

“That’s lovely to hear, please be welcome in the house of god.”

The man took his usual seat in the middle of church, close to one of the pillars. He had been the first of many, every family slowly started coming in while the priest got ready for the service. In came the Corduroy family, the Prestons, the Gleefulls, the Valentinos, McClorkes, Blubs, Durlands, Duskertons, Befufflefumpters and many others. He was surprised everyone still fit into the church.

When he took his place by the altar he noticed something odd, there was a family missing in his church. The Pines family usually came every Sunday and even some days during the week. Certainly worried, he made a mental note to visit them after the service.

The morning service was nothing special and everything went like usual. When the service came to an end, many didn’t leave yet. They all wanted a personal chat with the priest, also typical for Sunday.

“Ah, miss Valentino how are you this week?”

“Glad I don’t have that much work this week! Well, little controverted about that but you know what I mean.”

“Ofcourse, everyone needs a job to do and let me tell you that yours is a very noble one.”

“I’m glad I can guide them in their last journey to God.” Miss Valentino concluded. The conversation died down with a small goodbye and the priest made his way by everyone still present.

The doors of the church were left open, for the priest thought everyone was welcome in the house of God. A last glance at the surroundings on this beautiful day set him on his way to the Mystery Shack. As a priest, he didn’t always agree with their merchandise since he knew the elder Pines meddled with magic. Magic that wasn’t always pure white. But as a normal man, he liked the family, they had never gotten into real trouble and were quite amusing.

At the end of the road he took a turn to the left, into the center of the town. Where, after the service, the shops started opening up like the bakery and butchery. They even had a locksmith, who didn’t quite have a separate shop since he was always home and everyone was welcomed into his house. Passing by the bakery, he decided to stop by inside.

“Good morning father!” A young brunette greeted him.

“Good morning miss McClorke, how are we today?”

“Great father! I can feel the baby kicking already!” when miss McClorke stepped from behind the counter, her belly became quite obvious. He hadn’t gotten the chance to pay much attention to it earlier this morning.

“You’ve grown quite some indeed! For when was it due again?”

“I’m guessing a few more weeks, the little rascal is making me impatient already.” The priest could tell this child had already been welcomed in a warm and protecting family.

“Glad to hear, can I please use your services?”

“Ofcourse father! What would you like today?”

“I’ll have two of your sweeter pastries, I’m on my way to the elder Pines’. I didn’t see them during morning service so am worried they might have fallen sick.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, Stanley was here three days ago buying quite some bread. More than he usually would buy, haven’t seen him since.” This seemed to confirm his suspicions of them falling sick. While miss McClorke packed the pastries into a paper bag, the father got out his small leather pouch.

“Oh no father, please! This is on the house!” miss McClorke insisted. He just bowed his head in thanks, accepted the paper bag and made his way back into the streets again. Once he crossed the center of town, he followed down a dirt path. Eventually the Mystery Shack came into view, with their sign surprisingly reading ‘Open’. Stepping inside carefully, the priest looked around but didn’t have to wait long.

“I’ll be right down! Just a minute!” A gruff voice came from above his head. The shop wasn’t all that big but it sure was stuffed with a lot of items. The wall on the left, behind the counter, was loaded with bottles on shelves. They were filled with herbs, ground and some contents he didn’t want to figure out. The wall on the right had a big compartment with smaller shelves which were filled with candles and rich smelling dried herbs. The opposite wall of the one that held the front door had three big bookcases, filled from bottom to top with books. Some books he approved of and some he didn’t approve of as much.

Furthermore the store housed a few tables in the middle which held even more merchandise the priest rather didn’t touch. Heavy footsteps upstairs made his gaze shift to the opening in the opposite wall between two of the bookcases. A black curtain blocked the view further into the home. The footsteps came down the stairs he knew to be not too far from the curtain and soon enough the black mass was pulled aside. He was greeted by the friendly face of Stanford.

“Father! What do I owe this pleasure to?” He smiled broadly as he sidestepped to let the priest into his home.

“I came to check if everything was alright, I didn’t see you during the morning service you usually attend. I was worried you both had fallen sick.” As the priest walked further inside he could see Stanley in the kitchen, smiling friendly and motioning for the priest to join him. As he stepped into the kitchen, he put down the paper bag on the table.

“Good morning Stanley, fit as ever I see.” The priest greeted.

“Good morning Bill!”

“Stanley! You don’t call the man by his name!” Stanford scolded his twin. “I’m sorry father.”

“It’s no problem Stanford, Stanley. I’m glad to see you both well. But if I may ask, how come you couldn’t attend the service?”

“Well you see father, we had a few problems in the family.” Stanley seemed a bit hesitant to continue.

“You know I have a listening ear, my son.” Bill told him soothingly.

“My niece and her husband have recently deceased to a horrible illness.”

“My condolences, may their souls rest in the hands of God.”

“Thank you father.” The elder twins mumbled in choir.

“Take as long as you want to grieve, the church will always welcome you whenever you want to come. Service or not.”

“Well you see father, it’s not exactly the grieving that held us back from coming. It’s uh… what they left behind.” Stanford continued.

“They must have left behind a big hole in your life, no?”

“Not exactly… They gave us even more in life.” Stanley filled in. “They left behind twins.” The priest was obviously taken aback by this statement.

“They had a son and daughter who were left behind, we’ve been making arrangements all week already for them to move in here. They have a guardian who travels with them from Piedmont to here. They actually should arrive tomorrow around noon.” Stanley said. Bills face softened at this.

“I think it’s beautiful what you do for these children. You’re both being the warm arms to welcome them back from a harsh world and they’ll need you more than ever now. Please, if you need anything, let me know immediately. The church will do anything to help.” Bill made a gesture he’d be leaving and the elder twins quickly got up again.

“Thank you father, it was nice of you to visit.” The twins then guided the priest back out and waved him farewell.

Bill started his walk back to the church and inhaled deeply, the pine trees’ scent filling his nostrils. Curiosity took over as he started imagining what the kids might look like, a boy and a girl it would be. Would they be well educated? Would they even have been baptized? He had to make sure they would if they hadn’t yet. When he arrived back he went on with his daily chores, the confession booth and his daily prayers. Once the sun started to set, Bill put out the candles by the doors to show that he would not be available anymore for daily services. He would only open the doors when they would knock, which the townsfolk wouldn’t do unless an emergency occurred. Soon after, the priest got ready to turn in himself. Tomorrow promised to be an interesting day.


	2. Beata Maria

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So please keep in mind that I haven't attended church in forever so I might get it wrong here and there sometimes during the services.

The next morning was as bright as the previous day and Bill couldn’t wait to start the day. His first task being lighting the candles by the doors and unlocking them. Next came all the other blessed candles in the church. Since there was no morning service on Monday and no people had shown up yet, the priest decided to say his prayers already. Going to the little step before the cross, he knelt down before it and started his prayer. When his prayer was almost done, he could feel a summer breeze pass by his robes and his light blonde hair sweep in the wind. He finished his prayer properly first before getting back up and turning around.

There before him stood the most beautiful woman you could imagine. Her face was pure beauty and her eyes cried innocence and purity. She had a blue veil covering her hair, although a few dark brown strands kept showing, and falling over her shoulders in an elegant way. Her first robes were pure white, beautifully draping down her slender arms. The robes on top of those were as red as blood, falling over one shoulder and bound around her waist. The ends of the robes reached her toes and to top it off she had a golden halo resting atop of her head, keeping the bleu veil nicely in place.

“My son…” the figure spoke softly with the most feminine voice on earth.

“Beata Maria.” Bill was glad to see her in his church once again. “How can I be of service for you?” He asked while he knelt down.

“Please my son, stand.” And Bill did just that.

“I’ve come with a warning my son.” The saint continued.

“A warning?” Bill seemed a bit confused.

“Yes my son, your faith shall be strained soon, you must not waver from the straight path.” It didn’t make sense to Bill. He was faithful to God, he didn’t see how anything could change that.

“Maria… But how?”

“I cannot say more my son, but have faith. It’s better you forget certain things.” She came closer to Bill and placed a single gentle kiss to his forehead before her image disappeared in the wind again. Bill was left in front of the altar, alone and confused. He occasionally got visited by Maria Magdalena, she had shown him the right way to follow since a very young age and helped him in becoming a priest. She had helped him stay away from impurities and ignore his own detestable desires.  
He was now a righteous man, pure and living without sin. There was no time to overthink things that were unnecessary. Shaking away those thoughts, he recollected himself and decided to push the warning to the back of his head for the moment being. Deciding to return to his prayers he turned around back to face the cross, there were still some prayers he wanted to say.

After finishing all his prayers he looked at the time and noticed that noon had passed him all too soon. Going to his private rooms, he grabbed something to eat, even priests didn’t go without food. All this time he had felt like he had forgotten something important and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. Waving it away, he went on with his daily chores again, cleaning the path to the church and watering the flower pots in the front. He liked to clean the gravestones once in a while as well, so that’s what he went on to next. There were maybe about 22 graves, Gravity Falls wasn’t the biggest town and a lot of graves got forgotten easily and eventually removed by the state. It was sad really, another 5 graves would be removed by next year so Bill gave them an extra clean shine and fresh flowers. He couldn’t do much but even if they got to stay just another year would make him happy already. Some families just couldn’t afford keeping the grave of a loved one in the graveyard. Bill would help collect money for it but the townsfolk could only do so much.

Eventually the sun slowly started setting and the priest had put a chair outside in the grass to enjoy the sun and silence. In an hour the evening service would start and he would have to be ready so he started collecting his stuff to go back inside. Once back in his private rooms, he got himself freshened up and changed into the right robes for the service. He poured the wine into the gold leaved goblet and put the bread next to it. Saying one last prayer before heading for the doors where he could hear footsteps on the pebbles outside. Bill welcomed mister McGucket and soon after many more of the town. When the church was about filled halfway, he went back to the altar. On it lay a big heavy book with black leather cover. He opened up the book and went to the right page so he could start off smoothly. Then came in the elder Pines twins, wearing their black suits obviously still in mourning. But then Bills eyes widened, behind the Stans came in two others and all of a sudden he realized what he had forgotten all day. How could he have forgotten such an important thing? He was supposedly to have welcomed them in this town earlier today and he had simply forgotten. A sickening feeling settled in his gut. Trying to keep the gentle smile on his face, he looked back up to the Pines family who now already sat down in the fourth row. First came Stanley, sitting on the outer left chair. Next to him sat a lovely young lady, she wore a simple black dress with long sleeves and a sating scarf draping over her shoulders to hide her feminine forms. Her deep brown hair was put up under an elegant black hat from which fell a dark veil to cover part of her face.  
Next to her sat Stanford and then came a young man. He was clad in a black suit much alike the Stans. He had thick brown hair which curled elegantly around the boy’s face. Everything about the twins showed that they were well educated and mannered. Bill was actually more surprised for the fact that he had actually expected children, these two people were young but not that young.

Returning his attention back to the whole church, he started the evening service. The first telling went smoothly and the townsfolk said their part of the prayers along with passion, even the two newcomers. Holding up the bread he had put there earlier he continued as the townsfolk all stood up.

“Take and eat, this is my body.” He recited Jesus as he broke the bread into the basket before him. Raising the chalice with wine he continued the reciting.  
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” Then he drank from it and put it down again. Picking the basket up he went to stand in front of the altar and when he nodded, the first row made their way towards the priest. The first to receive the commune was miss McClorke.

“The body of Christ.” The priest muttered as he gave her a piece of dried bread.  
“Amen.” Miss McClorke whispered as she made her way back. This process repeated for everyone in the first row, then the second, third and eventually he reached the fourth row which brought him the Pines. First came Stanley, soberly accepting his commune. The man looked like he finally had time to mourn after all the arrangements. Then came the young lady, she was very timid and polite although Bill could have sworn he saw wet streaks along her cheeks. Stanford gruffly accepted his commune but the priest took no offence, he looked just as tired and miserable like Stanley. Lastly came the young man, upon seeing him closer he noticed that the boy was rather slender himself. He had dark circles under his eyes and they looked rather hollow which brought a sense of sadness over the priest. When the boy looked up for a second their gazes met and the priest gave him a gentle smile. After his commune the boy quickly made his way back to Stanford’s side. Bill finished giving the commune to the rest of the rows and returned back to the altar to finish the service.

Once the service was done, many people left but like usual some stayed, including the Pines. Figuring that the Pines would need quite some of his time, he went to them last.

“Thank you father for saving us for last.”

“No problem Stanford, I had a feeling it was necessary.”

“These are our niece and cousin we told you about father, Mabel and Mason.” Stanley filled in.

“Good evening children, I’m terribly sorry for your losses.” The priest said with a small bow of his head.

“Thank you father, excuse me my tears, it’s the first service without my parents.” Mabel spoke.

“It’s alright my dear, God understands and is there for you. No tears should be hidden inside the house of God.”

“Father, forgive me my rudeness but would you still accept confessions?” Mason asked with a heavy voice.

“Of course my son, I shall make time for that this instant.” Bill said as he sidestepped and led the boy to the confession booth. A person in mourning usually tended to confess more than average and he didn’t mind making time for that.  
Bill took his place in the booth, no need for anonymous listening since he was the only priest the church had known. He could hear the other take his place on the other side as the boy knelt down and vowed his hands.

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned.”

“God is listening my child.” Bill gently answered.

“I used foul and hurtful language towards my sibling, father forgive me.” The boy started. “I have missed two weeks of services, father forgive me.” He continued but soon after fell silent already. It was odd to Bill this were the only confessions the boy wanted to make but did not question, for he was not to judge.

“God has heard and forgiven you my son, repent for your sins with 5 prayers and a blessing over your sibling.”

“Thank you father.” The boy made his way out of the booth, Bill following soon after. He saw Mason going to his family and heard him saying they could go on ahead home. That he needed time for prayers. His sister seemed reluctant to leave him alone but was comforted by both her uncles that he’d be fine. Mason then made his way to kneel in front of the big cross behind the altar and started his prayers. The priest let him do his thing and started his own evening chores. Putting out the candles in front and closing the doors but not locking them just yet. He wanted to give the boy as much time as needed before he’d head home again. After cleaning the seats and brushing out the dirt from the ground he turned back to the boy. He was still kneeling with his hands vowed in his lap but his gaze was directed to the cold tiles beneath him. Obviously not busy with his prayers anymore, the priest went to kneel besides him when his eye fell on a white handkerchief in hands.

“If you want a listening ear, I’m here day and night.” He started.

“Thank you father, I’ll take that to heart.” Mason mumbled and got up, silently leaving the church. Bill was left kneeling in front of his altar with much sympathy in his heart as he thought back to the handkerchief.

It had been pure white with a golden embroidered edge and golden letters reading ‘Elizabeth Pines’.


	3. Virtue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the third chapter already :D this thing is going pretty good for me haha xD

The next day Bill woke up earlier than the other days. On Tuesday he would pull out the weeds from between the flowers. While still laying in his bed, he stretched out and relaxed for a little longer. He still had that sickening feeling in his stomach and his head was filled with sympathy for the Pines children.  
He turned on his side and thought back about last night, how the Mason had confessed rather futile things in his situation. Would the boy truly be as pure to confess such things? He felt really bad for how much the boy seemed to grieve. Of course, the young soul lost both his parents to a terrible disease.

Even Bill didn’t know why he worried a bit more about this boy than most of the townsfolk, especially since they had only arrived yesterday. Finally getting out of bed the priest freshened himself up by the sink and put on his garden robes. They weren’t anything special, just older robes that could get dirty. First he went to unlock the doors and light the candles by the entrance once again, followed by all the others. Then he went into the garden next to the church and knelt down in the first flower bed. After maybe five minutes he could hear footsteps on the pebbles.

“Ah mister McGucket, you’re early today.” The priest greeted without turning around but the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

“Mister McGucket?” Came a petite voice. When Bill straightened himself and looked at the person behind him, he was surprised. It was young lady Mabel, she had removed her hat when arriving which allowed her long hair to gently dance with the wind. Her face screamed innocence and childishness which suited her very well.

“Oh excuse me, child. Usually mister McGucket from the butchery is the first to come to church in the morning.

“I see, well guess I was too fast then today.” She said with a gentle smile on her face, obviously trying to make a small joke.

“Please excuse me my appearances, Tuesday I always pull the weeds from between the flowers. But please my child, what can I help you with?” Bill asked gently.

“Do you have time for a talk while a short walk perhaps?” the young lady proposed.

“Ofcourse miss Pines.”

“Thank you father but please, call me Mabel.” She already felt very comfortable around the priest, even Bill could tell. He removed the upper white apron from his attire and hung it on a shovel which rested by the church wall. Moving over to Mabel, she already made the first steps of what would be a private walk.

“So what’s been bothering you, my child?” A deep sigh came from the girl next to him before she opened her mouth to answer.

“It’s my brother, father. He’s having a really hard time since our parents deceased. He closed himself off from our grunkles and even me.”

“Grunkles?” The priest asked for clarification.

“Oh sorry father, it’s a word Mason and I use for our great uncles.”

“Aha I see what you did there, please continue my child.” He said as they took a left turn towards a forest path.

“He won’t talk to us… I don’t know what’s going on in that head of his but it’s something serious… Father, if you could, please talk to him.”

“I will when I get the chance my child, do not worry. Thank you for bringing this up, we can’t have him destroy himself in sadness and darkness.”

“Thank you father.” Mabel genuinely smiled, her brother obviously meant a lot to her. They soon parted ways and Bill returned to the chores waiting for him. Starting on the weeds again wouldn’t be for today anymore. Noon had swiftly arrived so for some sandwiches and some tea he had put out a chair and table in the garden again where he now peacefully enjoyed the sun.

Mister McGucket had left him some new tea while he was out on his stroll with Mabel. And he had to admit that the tea was rather lovely. It had a rich taste yet was ideal for a summer day like this. The pebbles once again announced a visitor and when he looked up he could see the same dark brown hair from earlier. But taking a second look he now noticed the hair was way shorter, how did he not notice such a thing? It was Mason, with the same tired expression from the day before. He looked up to Bill and his eyes opened up a little more.

“Am I bothering you father? I can come back later if you wish.” The boy asked politely.

“No son, please, take a chair and join me.” And surprisingly Mason did just that. When he came back outside from the church, he had a chair with him and placed it by the small table the priest was sitting at.

“Did you come for something special my son?”

“No father, just some small talk if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” He said as he took another bite from his sandwich. “Would you like one?” he suggested.

“No thank you father, my sister made sure I ate well earlier today.”

“She seems like a lovely sister, I hope you take good care of her.”

“Yes father, she is wonderful indeed. Although I’ve been slacking a bit, I try to take good care of her.”

“Good to hear, have you moved in well?” he asked as he poured a second cup of tea for the boy. “Please drink up.” Mason gladly took the cup and seemed to enjoy it already from the first sip.

“Thanks to my grunkles I’ve managed to settle in in one day, it’s quite an adaption though. Especially since we don’t seem to talk as much…” Of course Bill knew this already thanks to his sister so now had open terrain to go in on it.

“How comes my son? Have you had a discussion of sorts?” He asked as he finished his sandwich.

“No father, after my parents died I…” Mason trailed off, obviously fighting an internal conflict.  
“Father… I’ve been doubting… doubting everything I do and believe in…”

“Is your faith wavering my son?” Bill was honestly a bit scared to ask this question, he didn’t want to know the answer. He wanted Mason to keep having faith and trust in the mighty God above.

“Yes father…” the answer Bill had dreaded, was this the warning Maria had told him about? No, that couldn’t be. This boys wavering faith could not affect his own, he had always been proud of his virtue and nothing would change that.

“Father?” the boy hesitantly asked.

“Yes my son?”

“How…” Mason started. “How is there… a God. Someone who can choose what happens to us common folk and choose… choose death.” The boy had put his cup down a while ago and was now clenching his fists in his lap.  
“How could he do that to my parents?! They were good people!” the boy stood up in utter rage.  
“I will not! Not! Worship such a God!”

Bill was taken aback by this, the boy wasn’t grieving like he had thought. Mason was enraged with the world, with god and the plan he had for his parents.

“I understand how you feel my son but ple-“

“No! You do NOT understand! You will always protect this God! You can’t see the pain he has caused!” Mason approached the priest intimidatingly. Although the priest was half a head taller than the boy, he did indeed feel threatened.

“Mason-“

“No! How could he feel so high and mighty to put my sister through excruciating pain?!” He pushed the priest back.

“Mason calm down.” Bill demanded.

“I will NOT calm down! Your God hates us! He killed my parents!”

“Mason enough!”

“NO!” He almost screamed and was ready to shove the priest against the wall of the church. But as his hands shoved forward to him, they were caught into Bills hands and Mason was the one to get shoved with his back to the wall.

“It’s enough Mason.” Bill told him with a soothing voice again.

“How… how could he?” Mason forced out in whispers as tears started to stream down his cheeks while he looked the priest into his eyes. And all the confidence Bill had about himself as a priest suddenly slipped through his fingers like sand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently posting each chapter around +-1600 words, is that okay for you guys or would you like it to be more? Let me know and thank you for reading! ;D


	4. Pure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So short chapter this time! I'm so sorry ;-;  
> Hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Once the evening had fallen and Mason had returned home, the priest took some time for himself. Laying on his bed, he thought about today. After his tantrum, the boy had fallen to the ground sobbing and crying all his frustrations out. And Bill? Bill had been right there for him, holding him while Mason clung to his shoulders as if his life depended on it. He turned around to face the wall and propped his blankets together to hug.

It had gotten pretty clear to Bill that Mason wasn’t in a grieving process. He was enraged, angry and confused. He was defying God and openly mocking him, any other priest would probably give him whiplashes as punishment for blasphemy. But still the only feeling he could muster for the boy was sympathy. He felt bad for him and was ashamed to admit it but… he could actually understand the boy. For a second he imagined those hands clenching his shoulders again and wondered how it’d be to have him next to him. How could god have let this happen to such good people?

To these thoughts Bill shot up in bed, panic written over his face. How could he be thinking such things? He was supposed to be purer than the common folks, yet here he had been thinking of a boy’s body laying next to him. Here he was doubting god and this was unforgivable.

“Maria!” He shouted out. “Beata Maria please hear my prayers!” He almost screamed in despair. With what almost felt like an angry gust of wind, the saint Maria appeared in front of him.

“Why are you in such distress my son?” her voice sounded comforting yet cold in some way.

“I… Your warning Maria Magdalena… Can thy still not tell me what it was about?”

“No my son but I have the feeling you already feel what it was about. Have you fallen my son?”

“No! I would never!” He whispered in a flash of panic.

“You are supposed to be so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd.”

“I know Maria, I’m trying-“

“You should not try, you must be. If you cannot be, then be honest to me my son, so we can resolve that matter.” And for a second, Bill wanted to confess he no longer felt pure, that he had disgusting urges towards someone else, a boy at that. But he decided against it.

“Yes Maria, I must be, I am.” He said in a concluding matter.

“Good, call me whenever you need me.” Her soothing voice once again sounding warm and like last time, she left him with a single gentle kiss to his forehead. A warm breeze flew through his chamber and gone was the holy lady.  
Bill was left sitting on his bed. Only when tiredness suddenly took over did he dare lay down and pulled the covers back over him. It would be the first night since long that his sleep would be interrupted by unwanted dreams.

_  
Bill was in his room, feeling like he was neither awake nor asleep. Everything was clear, like an angels’ light illuminated everything. When he got out of bed, he went into the church to start his daily chores but then noticed it was still nighttime._

_“That’s odd…” He mumbled to himself. Although it was obvious that he shouldn’t, he went to the doors to unlock them. Only once he opened them came the surprise._

_“Mason?” He was perplexed, why was the young boy here at such an hour? Had he knocked already and had the priest not heard? Or was that what had woken him up?_

_“Father… I need your guidance…”_

_“Please come in, my child.”_

_“Please, just Mason.”_

_“Alright, please come in Mason, it’s rather chilly outside.” The priest tried to joke a bit. When in truth, it was chilly inside the church too. Only his private chambers had heating.  
“What can I help you with?”_

_“I could use a talk father… One that’s rather personal and private… That’s why I waited until now.” The boy said truthfully._

_“Well then Mason, just follow me.” Bill started heading to his private chambers, since the boy wanted privacy and the church still was chilly. He went to the back of the church where the door to his private chambers was and opened it up. The second door on the left led to his study. He had a somewhat larger couch there in the middle of the room, a desk on the left and quite some bookshelves. They were all filled with bibles and other holy writings._

_“Please Mason, make yourself comfortable. Oh and in here you can just call me Bill.” The moment that sentence left his mouth, he knew it had been a mistake. This was getting too close to the boy. He had tried not to get too personal but had failed._

_“Bill…” the boy tried it out on his tongue and a smile adorned his beautiful face. Then the boy proceeded to sit on the couch very timidly. With room left, Bill went to sit next to him._

_“So tell me, what did you want to talk about?”_

_“Fa- uhm… Bill” he quickly corrected himself. “What do you know about courting someone?” Bill was taken aback by this. Should he not ask his guardians about this? Certainly not a priest._

_“Are you sure you’re asking the right person?” He asked to clarify._

_“Yes Bill, I can’t ask my relatives, it’s too complicated.”_

_“Oh… well in that case I feel honored. But I do believe you should save yourself until after marriage.”_

_“But what if… what if marriage isn’t possible?”_

_“Are you trying to court someone from higher standards?” Bill now started to feel some jealousy in his gut. He must have been talking about the Northwest girl, she was not available to court which would explain his question._

_“Sort of…”_

_“Well in that case, note I don’t like to propose this but, you could possibly elope? Scandals usually don’t last in these kind of towns anyway.”_

_“That’s actually a good idea… it’s true what you say about the scandals.” The priest was a bit surprised at that, the boy had not been here long enough to be able to agree with such thing._

_“What do you me-“ But his sentence got interrupted. Interrupted by lips, warm lips on his. His eyes widened but before he could do anything to struggle or push Mason away, he was pushed back on the couch. His back hit the fabric of the couch and his wrists were pinned next to his head._

_Masons lips did not leave his, instead they deepened the kiss and his hands tightened on his wrists. He lowered himself on top of Bill and slightly moved his body against him. The priest squeaked in slight panic but Mason distracted him by biting his lip. Bill gasped at the pain but soon regretted it as he could feel the others tongue invade his mouth._

_All these things combined soon had the priest in some kind of trance he didn’t want to feel. But there he was, secretly wishing for more. It was in that moment that his mouth started filling up with some kind of liquid. His eyes shot open but all he could see was Mason staring at him with those beautiful orbs. His mouth however kept being filled with a thick liquid and soon it forced its way through his throat and into his lungs. Panic started to take over and all he could feel was the thick liquid and to his horror, a smile forming on Masons lips. After a few moments, the boy on top of him finally pulled away and Bill immediately coughed out the strange liquid._

_The greatest horror came when he finally looked back at Mason, from his mouth was pouring blood. The blood turned black as did his eyes and it was absolute horror laying underneath this monster._

_“Now you’re my scandal.”  
_

Bill awoke with a scream, sweaty and drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. Never in his life had he dreamed this bad. And it slowly dawned onto him that he wasn’t as pure as he had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was it for another couple of days :D  
> I decided to start uploading every 3 to 4 days now so I can actually make sure I can post regularly. This way I can write ahead quite some and you guys will still receive new chapters when I'm having a writers block! :D  
> You might hate me for this now but it will be better in the long run haha xD  
> See you guys in the next chapter!


	5. Scorched

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm already breaking the upload 'promise' I made like maybe half an hour ago? xD  
> But I'm actually pretty far ahead that I wanted to make up for the short fourth chapter :) and I couldn't wait to get this online!  
> Also I managed to end the last sentence on the 8000 word count and saw this as a sign haha xD  
> Enjoy!

Bill had stayed up after that, he couldn’t find himself going back to sleep anymore. Especially after he had noticed a certain morning problem he had not had in years. He truly felt like he had lost his touch to god. With a deep sigh he remembered his words to Maria the previous night.

“I must be. I am.” He repeated to himself. And with some renewed confidence he went on his tasks for the day already. On Wednesday evening there was always a special service, every person that’d come to attend it had the opportunity to get purified with holy water. The priest would dip his thumb into the holy water and draw a cross on the forehead of the people that came forward. Usually it were quite some people that would have this done, they felt safer with it, blessed even.

But Bill felt a certain bitterness, how could he cleanse others while he felt impure himself? He was thinking of confessing to Maria but decided to wait with that as he didn’t want to bother the holy lady. He did his chores with a heavy feeling in his heart, one that only grew as the hours passed by. Once it was time to open the doors, he felt like he was carrying around physical weight. When he opened the door, mister McGucket was already waiting outside.

“Oh dear…” the priest said jokingly with a weak voice. “Am I this late?”

“Father!” Mister McGucket looked shocked. “Are you feeling well?!” the man immediately went to support the priest, who hadn’t even noticed he was slumping against the wall and slowly falling down.

“I need to get you into bed Father!” the man who was now trying to carry his full weight seemed horrified. Had he really eyed that bad? McGucket did his best to carry Bill to the nearest bench.  
“I’m going to get help, I can’t do this myself! Please father, be alright until I get back!” once he had made sure that the priest couldn’t fall to the ground, he hurriedly took off.

Bill didn’t know how much time was passing, his eyes were slipping close against his own will. Now he thought about it, he truly felt horrible. He could only imagine what he looked like, it sure wouldn’t be a pretty sight. The priest could feel himself slipping backwards and soon enough his back hit the wooden seat. But the moment his back touched the wood, panic surged through him as his dream from last night came flooding back. His breathing became heavy again and black spots blocked his vision. Soon enough, he could feel himself shift in and out of consciousness.

At the first blink, he could see the ceiling of the church. On the second, the ceiling of his bedroom. On the third he could see brown curls at the edge of his vision. On the fourth, finally the face they belonged to, miss McClorke.

“Miss…” he tried speaking but only a hoarse and weak sound left his throat.

“Father? Can you hear me?” he could only hear snippers of what she was saying. She seemed to be talking to someone else too.  
“He doesn’t respond!” His vision only got worse and soon he could only see vague forms. There seemed to be two people in his room. But soon enough the voices died down in his ears and he could only hear silence. Then something unexpected happened, the room lit up with pure white light, the others didn’t seem to see this though.

Suddenly yet gentle, Bill could feel himself be risen from the bed. As if the light was gently cradling him, lulling him to sleep. Was Bill dying? Were these his final moments? They sure felt like it. But then he felt a familiar touch on his forehead, the blessed kiss of Maria Magdalena.

“Maria?” he softly asked, his voice not failing him this time.

“Yes, my child, I am here.” He could feel her warm arms embrace him like a toddler.

“What’s happening?” He asked when he slightly turned his head and could actually see himself laying on the bed. Miss McClorke and Stanford were by his side, tending to him with cold cloths and some herbs he couldn’t place.

“You are conflicted my child, this lead to your physical illness. What is it that’s bothering you so much, it is nearly costing you your life?”

“I… Maria… I’m not as pure as I thought.” This brought down a huge weight on him.

“I know, you have lied to me, haven’t you?”

“Yes Maria… I have sinned towards you…” Bill was deeply ashamed. Silence stretched between them and slowly he could feel how Maria retracted her arms from him.

“I know, I’ve been working on it.” Her voice sounded one last time before he came crashing back down into his body. Jolting awake with a gasp for air and electricity shooting through his body.

“Father!” He could hear miss McClorke and Stanford cheer in unison. He looked around him in a panic and when he finally saw the two, it didn’t subdue the feeling at all.

“I… what happened?” He breathed out.

“Father, you were very ill, you were slipping through our fingers.” Miss McClorke explained softly.

“We had no choice father, else you would have expired.” Ford said with regret audible in his voice.

“What?” he still felt weak but remarkably felt himself recovering very fast. When Ford stepped aside, he was met with yet another sinful horror, one he could never overcome. On the floor next to his bed were chalk drawings, a large circle with runes on the inside and a smaller circle in the middle. His mind immediately went to the herbs he couldn’t recognize and all of a sudden one and one made two.  
“We’re so sorry father… It seemed like our only option…” McClorke said with remorse.

“You… you’ve used… on me…” Bill was rambling words, not able to say it himself.

“We had to use black magic to keep you amongst the living… I know this goes in against all you believe in father… but we could not give you back to god, not yet.”

Bill was baffled, shocked and yet didn’t know how to feel or what to say. He didn’t know if he should be happy or angry. He sure didn’t feel ready to leave this world yet but two other people had now taken that from him. Black magic, they had used black magic and with that also the only chance he had to enter heaven. His life, was a sin now and it broke him to the core.

“You… you both!” he snapped. “Do you realize what you have done?!”

The two in front of him sat on their knees in front of him, smudging the chalk on the floor. Their eyes close but their heads held down and their hands resting in their laps.

“You two committed necromancy! Even worse! You’re now condemned to hell!” He felt so angry and then utter sadness and despair.  
“You two… condemned me to hell as well…” the priest felt so defeated, he had done everything not to give into temptation and now someone else had taken away all purity he had left.  
During this whole period, the two had said nothing. Bill looked at them and felt absolutely no emotion anymore. He sat up straight in his bed and looked at his hands, they somehow felt disgusting.

“Get out.”

“Fathe-“ McClorke wanted to prostest.

“GET OUT!” He screamed almost demonically at them. Both of them were taken aback with fear filling their eyes. They scrambled to their feet and got out of his private chambers and soon after he could hear the doors of the church fall shut. A cold wind filled the church and into his bedroom as well.

These last few days had send him straight to hell. Folding his hands into his lap, he started thinking about what may have caused this. He was thinking straight enough to know this could not have been because of his conflicted feelings towards Mason. They could not have caused such rapid condemnation.  
Of course, he was now certainly going to hell thanks to Ford. He couldn’t find it in his heart to fully blame miss McClorke, she only worked with Ford in hopes of marriage.  
He could feel his blood burn at the thought of Ford, but he had to ignore that for now. Even if they hadn’t brought him back to earth, something had been causing him misfortune. God had always been good to him, not once had he been sick since becoming a priest. And then something clicked.  
Someone was lying to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last short like chapter I'll post, the next one will be up in aprox 3-4 days and will be longer :)


	6. Burned

After sitting there for about half an hour contemplating all kinds of things, he felt healthy again. The tired feeling was gone and so was the illness. Getting out of bed, he decided that he would keep following his normal routine, which now would be preparing for the service.

He changed into his other robes and just threw out the ones he had been wearing, they felt disgusting on different levels. Yet, when he pulled on the other ones, they had the same filthy feeling. He guessed it must’ve still been after effects from whatever Ford had done to him. Giving it no deeper thought, he went to prepare further to keep his mind off the whole ordeal. He poured holy water into the golden bowl on the altar and lit the holy candles, one of each sitting on a corner of the altar. Slowly but surely people started dripping into the church. Many looked a bit worried, word must have spread like wildfire about his illness. Mister McGucket came up to him, worry written over his face.

“How are you father?” he asked carefully.

“I actually feel rather good, thank you for this morning.” The priest said with a warm smile on his face.

“Glad to hear you feel well again!” with that McGucket tipped his hat and went back to his place. The man hadn’t wanted to keep the priest from his service. Which the priest on his turn appreciated. He saw McGucket talk to the person next to him and slowly each person turned around to talk to one another. One by one the worried glances started disappearing and he was grateful for that. Ford and miss McClorke were nowhere to be seen as the other Pines entered church.

The twins were still dressed in black and Mabel’s face was still hidden behind a veil. The boy however looked splendid in his suite and Bill found it hard to cast his gaze somewhere else.  
Soon enough he was pulled from his little trance by beautiful sapphire eyes staring into his. He quickly withdrew his gaze and walked back up to the altar, taking his place behind it.

Bill cleared his throat and started the service once the silent murmuring had died down. Starting with a story from the bible in front of him, he turned the pages and noticed an annoying itch on his hand. It was in fact becoming so distracting that he decided to unnoticeably cut the story short.

“Amen.” Bill said for the folks to follow.

“Amen.” The people said in unison. The priest to the front of the altar and continued.

“I shall now give the holy blessing to those who wish to receive one.” Some people started coming forward, not all which wasn’t unusual. McGucket came up like usual, so did the Corduroys, Duskertons and Befufflefumpters. When everyone had lined up, the priest turned back to the bowl and heard some other feet shuffling to join in line.

“In the name of our Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Bill recited as he put his thumb into the holy water. But as soon as the water touched his skin, it felt as if it was being scorched and burned. Biting through the feeling in order not to raise suspicion he drew a cross McGucket’s forehead.

“Amen.” McGucket answered and the priest was alarmed. The man seemed fine and the water wasn’t bothering him, which confirmed his own suspicions, this was a problem with Bill. The water didn’t leave any visible markings so he decided to just go through with the blessings. One by one they all came by and like he had heard well earlier, after the Befufflefumpters came another pair. Mabel Pines came first who had timidly taken off her veil.

“In the name of our Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Bill recited again with as warm of a smile that he could muster.

“Amen, father.” She thanked, her voice sweet as honey. Behind her was her twin brother, Mason Pines. Those sapphire eyes looking him straight in the eyes, like he was reading him like an open book. Those eyes seemed to be staring into his soul and baring all his secrets. He noticed how Mason closely watched as the priest dipped his thumb into the water again. Drawing the cross on his forehead, Bill noticed how beautifully smooth his skin was, not one impurity.

“Amen.” Mason answered but he couldn’t ignore how hollow it had sounded. He recited a couple of more texts and closed off the service. Before everyone had left, Bill hurried to his private chambers to look at his hand. After the blessings it had started burning even worse. He got to his bathroom and took a closer look at his hand. Much to his horror, it was now covered in blisters. Quickly he turned open the faucet for cold water and held his hand under the stream. The only relief this offered him was the coldness, yet the water didn’t wash anything away that caused this. Bill’s thoughts were racing, slowly he was putting two and two together.  
First his robes felt filthy for no apparent reason, his hand reacted weird to the bible and now he had blisters due to the holy water.  
But he was quickly pulled from his thoughts by a sudden knock on the door. He turned the handle of the faucet close and carefully dried off his hand, keeping it hidden in the towel as he turned to the door. When he opened the door he was a little surprised, there was Mason patiently waiting.

“Can I be of help Mason?” the priest asked.

“It burned you, didn’t it?” at this his eyebrows rose up.

“H-how…” Bill wanted to start but couldn’t find the words to express his surprise.

“I saw it, during the blessings. It’s not uncommon for you to have this kind of reaction now. Ford told me about what he had to do, but we should take care of your hand first now.” The priest let himself be taken by his good hand and led towards the hall.

“Where can we sit?”

“The study… second door on the left…” Bill answered weakly. Mason just nodded and brought them both inside the study where he placed the man on the couch. The young man went to the desk and pulled out a rolled up leather pouch. It was rather large and when he put it down, he rolled it open. Inside were several vials, some filled with a liquid and others with herbs. Bill frowned at this, Ford must’ve taught his blasphemy arts to his young cousin.

“Isn’t it dangerous for you to meddle with such things?”

“You are rather young for a priest yourself father, I do not doubt your services either do I?” Mason obviously didn’t feel like biting his tongue.

“I chose my way, I do not live with regrets.”

“Well neither do I, father.” Mason had put extra stress on the last word.  
“How old are you father?” he then asked with a milder tone.

“Why the odd question?” Bill countered, he did not see the importance of this.

“Because some of these herbs can be dangerous after a certain age, I want to help you, not accidently kill you.”

Bill hesitated before giving the young man his answer. “I’m twenty-four.” Mason nodded at this.

“Well, if it’s a comfort to you, I’m twenty-one myself.” For some reason this indeed was comforting to the priest, it the back of his mind it gave him hope that he shouldn’t have.  
Mason took out a vial with a blue liquid in it and popped off the cork as he approached Bill.

“Give me your hand please.” The priest did as he was asked but noticed how Mason’s gaze had lingered for a little while. And he had indeed, Mason was for a second admiring the priest’s slender features and his golden blonde hair. Sapphire and emerald eyes met only for a second, one that seemed to take eternity before they both pulled away their gaze.  
The boy knelt down in front of the man and gently took his hand in his. Slightly tilting the vial, the blue liquid flowed onto his hand.

“Hold like this please.” The Pines boy told him and he just nodded. Mason put back on the cork and put away the vial before returning to his place in front of the blonde. The liquid had set a little and Mason started rubbing it in gently.  
“This should help.”

“Thank you Mason…” Bill felt a little bitter at this, getting hurt by that which he loved.

“I’m sure you know this father but… You can’t stay a priest like this.” And there they were, the words he so desperately didn’t want to hear. He didn’t want to acknowledge them, he didn’t want to have to give in to them. But harsh reality was hitting him in the face as he stared at his hand. And soon enough, he could feel that familiar wind going through the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since it's not as long as I planned it, I'm uploading the next chapter a bit sooner than planned (I split up the story already per chapter so excuse me haha!)


	7. Your pyre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised! Double update due to lack of length of the previous chapter haha xD :D  
> Enjoy!

Bill’s head swept around violently to watch the deity appear. The wind turned to robes and soon enough the warm face of the woman appeared. Mason turned around and pressed himself against the desk, his hands clenching tightly around the edges. The look on his face made clear that this ‘holiness’ was not welcomed.

“Bill, my son, I came for you distress.” The woman said as she looked over to Mason who almost sneered at her.

“Do not lie.” Bill said coldly, which caused Mason to look at him with a surprised expression.  
“I know what you have been doing.”

“I’ve protected you my son, from this vulgar common boy.” She said as her gaze shifted from Mason to Bill and back.  
“He has tainted you.”

“He has done nothing wrong.” Bill stood up and showed confidence in his stance.

“Bill, stand down my son, I only do this because I love you.” Maria came closer to Bill but he backed away from her, closer to Mason.

“No, you’re the one that has been manipulating me from the start!”

“Manipulated?” She asked with a smile, not moving closer to them. Mason had been watching the whole scene unfold and let his hand slip to the pouch that was still open on the desk.

“You’re the one that had me forget the twins would arrive! You’re the one that caused the nightmare! You’re the one who had me fall ill and had me dying! Your kiss, is a curse.” He spat out.

“How thoughtful of you…” the woman grinned in a wicked way and Bill felt every drop of faith leave him as she lurched toward him.

“Bill!” Mason yelled and pulled the blonde behind him as he emptied one of vials in the direction of the woman. The black liquid hit her right in the face and an ear-piercing scream was heard throughout the church. The deity covered her face with her hands and when she pulled them away, her face was partially molten, sticking to her fingers.  
“You die today.” Mason said coldly and pulled out a second vial with a pure white liquid in it. But before he could empty the vial on the deity, she lunged towards the blonde and successfully tackled him to the ground. The young boy turned around toward the deity that had Bill pinned beneath him and tried to lunge himself on top of her. She was however faster than he had anticipated and with inhuman strength launched him into the opposite wall. Mason hit the wall full force with his back and his head following suit, knocking him unconscious almost instantly, the vial falling from his hand.

“You should not have stood up against me human!” she screeched into his face. Bill tried to stretch his neck just to get his face away from her. But soon enough her hands found his throat and started squeezing. The first thing that came to his mind was that these would be his final moments.  
“Oh no human, these will not be your finals, these are only your beginnings of a cursed life into eternity.” And with that her eyes turned black and her hands crept higher to keep his head into place. Her mouth opened and a black substance came pouring out of it. Bill struggled as hard as he could and started yelling in utter despair.  
Soon the thick liquid poured over his face and blocked his nose, after that his mouth. Desperately gasping for air, he got the thick liquid into his lungs which slowly started to suffocate him. Panic started taking over as the liquid covered his eyes as well, the last thing he saw was how only more of the thick liquid poured out of her mouth. Air completely escaped from him and he tried kicking as hard as he could.

“You like this boy so much that you feel like defying me? Then burn in hell with him for eternity!” he could hear her voice, as if the liquid was transmitting it. Then the pain came, the liquid seemed to have turned into needles and it hurt so bad. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt how it pierced through his eyes and the insides of his body. The pain was so excruciating that he felt like fainting, he wanted it to be over so bad. But he hoped that whatever she would do to him, she wouldn’t do to Mason. Even with the thick liquid everywhere on his face and in his eyes, he could still feel tears running down his cheeks. When the pain reached a spike, his lungs were to raw to produce another sound and then all of a sudden it was gone. All that was left was the woman on top of him, no longer beautiful but old and emaciated.

“Thanks to the vulgar human on the ground on the other side of the room, I cannot stay in existence. But fear not, you loved him enough to let this happen my son? You have until midnight to win him over, make him yours willingly, else you will be forced to kill him!” She burst into maniacal laughter and slowly started melting while still pinning Bill to the floor. The laughter died out as she was almost completely black substance on the priest and the ground. Bill was horrified and didn’t understand why she had died now and not earlier. But when he looked over to Mason, he saw the vial with the white liquid on the ground. Due to the impact on the wall and ground, the vial had cracked and it seemed like it had eventually made it to her bare feet. The panic in his chest made his breath come out quickened.

“Mason!” he crawled closer to him and cradled the boy in his arms. But as he moved him, he slowly opened his eyes, he was still conscious!  
“Mason! Thank goodness!” he gently tightened his grip on the boy.

“I… I heard the curse…” This made Bill’s blood run cold, this meant the boy knew of his feelings towards him.  
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Bill apologized.

“It’s okay…” Mason coughed. “I knew.” The former priest looked at the boy in his arms and felt his eyes water up.  
“Your eyes…” Mason continued. “They’re… golden now…” his voice still weak. This statement however made Bill’s eyes widen and one of his hands went to touch right beneath his eyes.

“Get my pouch please…”

“Yes, ofcourse!” But before Bill went for the pouch on the desk, he first picked up Mason and gently set him down onto the couch. He fetched the pouched and gave it to Mason who immediately took out two vials and a few herbs.

“Help me mix these.” Bill did as he was asked and helped him mix the right amounts together.  
“Now think of something that will always make you remember me.” Mason smiled softly. “We cannot lift the curse tonight, so this will have to do.”

“What? But that means…”

“Hush, please… for now… think of something.” The faintest of smiles still lingering on his lips.

“The stars.” Bill answered and realized this would be his only chance to express his feelings towards him. “Because they resemble your eternal beauty, they show the light you have brought into my life. They live the eternal life I wish I could have with you.” Bill felt sober and depressed as he spoke these words. They would forever represent his feelings for this young man, that in only four days turned his entire life upside down. How crazy could life get?

“Look out the window… the first constellation… draw it on my forehead with the mix we just made.” And Bill did just that, he walked over to the big window opposite from the door and looked outside at the stars. And the first constellation he saw was the Big Dipper. A warm smile made its way onto his face and he walked back over to the boy on the couch, who was quickly losing his battle. Bill gently took the mixture and started drawing a few reference dots and connected them in the right ways. Mason giggled softly when he felt Bill had accidently spilled a few drops he obviously didn’t mean to. The former priest soon put away the mixture and held Mason close.

“Thank you Bill.” He smiled up to the blonde. His smile broke Bill’s heart and made his eyes water again.

“I’m so sorry…” Bill said.

“Don’t be… I saw this coming after all.” His hand cupped Bill’s cheek lovingly and Bill lowered himself, leaving only an inch between their lips.  
“See… you soon…” Mason breathed out and Bill could almost feel his life slipping through his fingers. And on his last breath, Bill closed the gap between them, sealing their faith with a kiss.

He knew Mason had made him draw the constellation with a reason, he would find him again.  
In another life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have the feeling this went down rather quickly, if you guys think so too then I'm sorry for this  
> However this is not the end! It's long from done and our two lovebirds still have a long road ahead of them


	8. Eternal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is might be a rather heavy chapter, yey for the big update though haha!  
> But yea, lots of feels again  
> This chapter contains story revelations, death and implied suicide.

After Mason’s passing, Bill felt hollow and broken. So much had gone down in just a few days and his head felt dizzy because of it. In only a few days, he had found possible love, doubted his beliefs and lost it all in one night.  
Despite his hate for Ford, he knew he would be the only one to provide him some answers. So that’s where he decided to go. Picking up Mason in his arms, he would show his respects by bringing him back to his family. The night provided a cold wind which almost cut into Bill’s cheeks and hands. The walk was a long one, he didn’t want to cross through the center of town. Although everyone must have already been asleep, he just couldn’t take the risk. Also the thought of all the windows he’d see his reflection in made him sick.  
He had also brought the pouch Mason had laid out on the desk, it weren’t items to be found by just anyone. They would safest with Stan and Ford. His steps halted for a minute when something else hit him. Mabel would be devastated, first her parents and now her twin and only sibling. Deep down, Bill hoped she would be asleep as well, not all Pines could go with just two hours of sleep, right?  
The former priest made his last turn to the left and started walking down the trail which lead to the Mystery Shack. Mentally preparing himself for the onslaught that could possibly go down, Stan and Ford might want his head for this. The shack came into view and he started feeling utterly nervous, would they even provide him answers or just shoot him on the spot? The last few steps all stabbed him equally in the heart, Mabel’s tear streaked face in mind.

Once he reached the doorstep, Bill took a last deep breath, what would he even say? Just came to bring back your dead nephew and oh I got cursed, please elaborate on that? It sounded ridiculous. But before he could even knock, the door flew open to reveal a heartbroken Stan.  
“Mason!” he took the boy from Bill and immediately brought him inside, nodding his head for the blonde to follow. Once inside, the former priest noted how one of the tables was already emptied and had chalk markings all over it. Stan gently laid down Mason in the middle of the inner circle. In the meanwhile Ford was in the corner with a big kettle, still adding all sorts of stuff into it.

“Finally, it was about time you got here! What took you so long?!” Ford yelled his way.

“I… uhm… avoided the center of town.” Bill said once he fully understood that he was the one being spoken to.

“Hmm I can’t blame you for that, come here and help.” Ford demanded of the blonde and he just did as he was told like earlier. Somewhere his mind decided that it was better for now to blindly follow orders. Ford gave him a few bottles to hold and quickly scribbled down some stuff on small papers and stuck them to the bottles.  
“Stan, here, take the journal and finish those sigils!” Ford yelled towards Stan, everything seemed like chaos and somewhere in the back of his mind, Bill seemed to like it for some reason. Stan had gone over to Ford to take what they called “the journal”. Opening the book to a certain page, Stanley went back to the table to finish his drawings, or sigils like they had mentioned. Bill was rather lost in all of this while Ford slowly took bottle by bottle from his arms.

“Listen up, we are limited in time right now but I promise, I will give you answers.” Ford said as he grabbed Bill’s upper arms.  
“But for now, things have to keep moving and we need to finish this by sunrise which is only three hours away.” Bill heard every word and nodded to agree, but he wasn’t quite sure whether he understood them. What did they need to finish?  
“Good.” Ford concluded as he returned to the kettle to start measuring and finish the brew. When he looked over to Stan, he saw how he was perfecting the circle, all while not even once pulling his head from that journal.  
The small red leather book in his hand, almost a hand thick, had golden corners. The back which held everything together had golden clips to secure it extra. On the front, was a beautiful blue pine tree, obviously embroidered into it with the number two on it in black.

“Goddamnit, for once I really wish we had thought the kid how to write properly, his handwriting sucks even more than mine!” Stan shouted, he had never been one to watch his tongue that much.  
Another hour flew by in which Bill had to help the elder twins on various things and Stan went to search out a special set of candles. The candles were each placed with an equal amount of space in between them, within the outer circle.

“We don’t have much longer, we need to finish this up.” The twins agreed together. Stan went through the door in between the bookcases, why, Bill didn’t know.

“Bill, we are going to have to do a black magic ritual, you have no choice but to participate. I will explain why later but when Stan gets back here you need to make a circle with us.”

“Okay but wha-“

“Questions later.” Stan came hurrying back through the door with, much to Bill’s surprise, Mabel.

“I’m ready to do this!” she said determined, this made Bill think she had expected this. While he thought she must’ve been asleep, she probably was making preparations of her own.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Stan said.

“Okay, Stan you sit north, Mabel East and Bill South.” The three nodded and took their places, Bill taking a little longer as he watched where Stan and Mabel went to sit to know his own position. once they had all sat down around the table, which was now lowered, Stan took the journal again.

“Okay it says we need to recite this text and light the eastern candle first and then the rest one by one clockwise.” Bill was surprised to hear that they seemed to be doing this… well… for the first time.  
Stan passed the book to Ford, who began the incantations, they seemed to Bill like a dead language of some sorts. The words were foreign and seemed hard to speak. After the first verse, Ford looked at Mabel, who nodded in understanding. She lit the first candle and Ford went on to recite the second verse. Then Bill lighted his candle and so on until Ford lit the last one. While Ford was finally reciting the last verse, Mason’s body started emitting blue light as. The constellation on his head emitted the brightest, making it visible for everyone to notice properly. Ford’s words grew stronger and the light shone brighter until none of the four could keep their eyes open anymore. With a last shout Ford finished the ritual and bright white light filled the room completely, it felt as if they all were getting sunburned by it. Bill could hear Mabel scream and before he knew it they were all blown outward.

After a few moments, they all came by. Mabel had been blown against the bookcases on the right, Bill had almost broken through the front door and Stan had luckily gone through the open door in between the bookcases on the opposite side. After slowly standing up he noticed that Ford did the same behind the counter. The force had toppled him over it. Mabel was groaning from the pain in her back and Stan slowly peeked out from behind the wall. Soon enough their gazes all shot up and focused on the table.

Gone.

Mason’s body had vanished. All that was left was a shattered table, the sigils unreadable and the wood scorched. It looked like they had had a huge bonfire in the middle of the room. The ceiling was scorched as well and so were some books that had been too close. The elder twins seemed to be grateful that the journal wasn’t scorched though.

“We did it!” they both cheered. Mabel looked like she wanted to cheer along but the only thing she could muster was a smile. She knew they had just achieved a great thing, but nonetheless, she had still lost her brother.

“What just happened?” Bill wanted answer, as fast as possible.

“Let’s get to the kitchen for a hot cup of coffee, then I’ll answer all your questions.” Ford said. Both Mabel and Stan agreed to this and already headed off to the kitchen. It was strange they didn’t seem as bothered by this as they should have been. But not wanting to insult someone, he went along to the kitchen and took place by the table.

“Want some sugar?” Stan asked him but he declined and thanked the man when he was a handed a hot cup of coffee.

“So… what was all this?” He asked again.

“Let me explain… from the very beginning.” Ford started and sat down next to the blonde who now fully focused on the elder man.  
“First off, Mason and Mabel’s parents didn’t die of illness. They were cursed by a demon, just like what happened to you.” Bill’s eyes widened at this realization. “As you may have noticed, Mason knew what was coming, he was blessed with a gift of seeing.”

“Why didn’t he try to prevent it then?” Bill interrupted.

“Because at one point he was determined to do so, then his vision changed and he saw his sister interfering and dying as well. He thought about it long and deep but soon came to realize he couldn’t save his parents from their faith. He only talked about this to me and Stan through letters, that’s why he may have come over like he wasn’t mourning as much like his sister. The boy had had the chance to say his goodbyes unnoticeably and found peace with it before it ever happened. They got cursed because they were in too deep into black magic, I know we are too and we possibly may suffer the same faith.” Ford stopped there for a second and took a sip of his coffee.

“The book we used was Mason’s as well, he was a very gifted kid in many ways. Very smart, good at math and languages. Then he got into the occult like his parents, he was translating scripts way faster than the both of them could together. But he also started to write down his visions in it as well. He started writing about what was to go down here before he arrived here. We were officially warned by him at that point, that a dangerous entity was residing in this town. The day he arrived here and saw you, he knew it had to do with you. When he got back from his visit to you the day after, he was able to tell us that it was something that visited you and was tempering with your mind already. Almost every minute of the day, he was scribbling into that journal. We were right you know… we knew he had found a solution to the problem… We just didn’t know what that was yet.” Ford said with a heavy heart and paused again.

“He knew… he knew he was going to die… the journal told us about it. He had written down how his life was going to end, how he still managed to save you from death and give you both another chance in another life. He had been dreaming of you, weeks and months, before he came here apparently. The pure image of you had him fall for you and he decided it was worth his life. He wrote about how he could only save himself in one way, the only way in which you would have died. Noble, extremely brave and a lovely boy… I’m sorry…” Ford said as he stood up, emotions clearly a bit too much as he left the room.

“Excuse my brother, Mason was supposed to become his protégé.” Stan continued.  
“The demon that cursed you, cursed you into eternity to fulfill one task. This means, you will live as long as it takes to complete that task. After you do that, you will have until the next sunrise to perform a ritual. You can choose from two, one which makes you mortal again and live the rest of what should have been your life. Or one that will keep you immortal, however if you fail to perform one of these two, you will turn to ashes, to never return.” Bill tried taking in all this new information, almost being too much.

“The ritual we performed on Mason was to reincarnate him, we know the curse involves him so if we hadn’t done this you would have been truly cursed into never-ending eternity.” Stan said, sipping from his coffee as well. All this while Mabel was just idly leaning against the counter.

“Since he was my twin, he’s part of my soul, I too shall reincarnate alongside him. So you will have to look out for twins.” Mabel said timidly.

“Of course this could take a few generations… it will be agonizing for you Bill. But try to keep your head up and your mind calm.” And that was pretty much all the information he got from them, along with the leather journal which would be his guideline from now on. After that Bill had left the shack, biding them all farewell and a thanks for the help.

Then began Bill’s long journey through time, he never actually left Gravity Falls. He had stayed there to keep a close eye on the Pines family, he needed to know every generation from now on. Carla’s husband passed away shortly after the baby had arrived due to an accident in the mines. So after the customary months of grief, Ford eventually convinced Stan to ask Carla to marry him, which she happily agreed to. The family seemed to finally live a calm and normal life, a couple years after the wedding however, Ford’s life was cut off by a heart attack which left Stan truly heartbroken. They always say that twins share one and the same soul, so when one of them dies, they take part of the other with them. Soon after that, Bill learned that the elder twins had another younger brother. He came to visit Gravity Falls for the funeral together with his spouse and his two boys and one girl.  
Mabel eventually found a husband and moved in with him, having two children, two boys who she named after her grunkles. Which left Bill with two lines to follow now. If he had to follow tradition, the Pines line would continue on the brother’s side and not with Mabel’s children. He noted the sibling’s address in the journal, he wasn’t quite ready to let go of Mabel yet.

He watched how Stanley slowly slipped into old age, side by side with Carla, how Mabel’s children would play around in the yard behind the shack. Mabel had become a lovely woman, great mother and wife. Watching the bubbly young woman turn older weighed heavy on Bill, but he remained by her side without her knowing. Every year they would take a picture with all the residents of Gravity Falls, Bill made sure to be in it as well. Old McGucket had left this earth not long after Mabel’s oldest son had turned fourteen. He was a tough nut to crack, an even harder one to step out of this life.  
Many years passed like this and Bill made sure to go up to, Shirmey he had learned, to check if they still lived in the same house. Like every time, they indeed were. The eldest was however planning on moving out already with his lover, a dream the youngest already dreamed of.

After another five years, Carla passed away of old age, soon after so did Stan at the age of 75. Out of heartbreak, like Mabel said, now at the age of forty-four. Bill could understand this, seeing everyone he cared for so deeply, he had many times thought he’d die of heartache as well. But unfortunately for him, this would still take a long time.

He stayed in the background until Mabel reached the age of sixty-seven, her boys were now forty-three and had families of their own. However, Mabel had fallen ill due to old age and hadn’t come out of bed for a few days now, Bill could feel her end nearing. This felt like the right time to give an old friend a visit. Her husband had gone out of the house for her medication so he took his chance to sneak in. He found the bedroom of the old couple and knocked twice on the wooden door. The old woman looked over to the door and didn’t seem fazed.

“It’s my time isn’t it, old friend?” she smiled, her face was wrinkly and her eyes lay now deeper. Her once beautiful brown hair had now turned all grey and was cut short. But in her expression he could still recognize the beautiful young lady that once stepped into his church for the first time.

“It is indeed Mabel, I do suggest you wait for your husband to return. Goodbye is never easy, but none is even worse.” He smiled as he quietly made his way over to her on the bed. Sitting down gently not to hurt the tender bones of an old lady.  
“How are you Mabel?”

“I’m content Bill, I’ve had a gorgeous life, beautiful children and heavenly grandchildren. If only I could’ve shared this with my brother though.” Not once did she drop the warm smile from her face.  
“As for my husband, he knows, he has seen me slip away these last couple of days. I’m going to miss so badly… we talked it over already, talked about our life together. How beautiful it was and how thankful we are for having to get to spend it together.”

“That’s beautiful sweetheart.” Bill said as he took her hand in his.

“How have you been Bill?”

“I’ve been… lonely, yet not. I’ve always watched over you, I shared your joy and grace which was a blessing.” Bill answered as he gently kissed her hand.  
“Say hello to Mason, will you?”

“I won’t have time for that dear, the moment I die, we reincarnate. I will if I remember though!” she cheered as best as she could. She truly was still that warm loving lady from so many years ago. However he could feel her hands growing colder and her eyes slightly dulling so he showed himself out. But before he went out, he kissed her on her forehead and wished her a great journey.  
The blonde made his way out of the house again and slowly walked on the street in front of the house. In the distance he could see Mabel’s husband appear again, he was right on time. They seemed, just like him and Mason, destined for each other.  
As he walked down the street slowly, he already knew what the man had planned. Mason had already known long ago too.

“Mabel! Darling I’m back home! I’ll be right with you dear.” Mabel could hear her husband’s voice. How truly blessed she felt with a man like that. She could hear him go into the kitchen, they had talked this over many times and even though she had wished he had done differently, she couldn’t be more happy either. Soon enough the man came in with two cups of hot tea.

“Here you go darling.”

“Thank you my dearest.” She said as she took the cup from his hands. They both drank theirs in silence, occasionally sharing smiles and adoring glances. Once their cups were empty, the man took hers and set them aside. Taking off his vest and dress pants, he crawled in bed next to her and they cuddled up to each other.

“Sleep tight my sweet, sweet Mabel.”

“Sweet dreams my loving Prescott.” They kissed a last time before putting their heads to rest and held each other as close as possible. Then they both drifted off to a never-ending slumber.

After a couple of days, Bill visited the church again and went to the garden next to the building. There he found what he was looking for.

_Forever rest in peace,  
Prescott  & Mabel Northwest_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was more than double the length of what I usually update :D  
> Hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next chapter!  
> Smut will probably ensue in the next chapter or the one right after that :P
> 
> If this chapter still seems a bit rushed to you guys, let me know and I will work on that :)


	9. Abandoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting the chapter's title aside, this is a very short chapter I'm so sorry!  
> I just wanted to clarify that I'm not abandoning this story! I simply lost quite a chomp of the story due to bad saving habits and wanted to write everything as detailed as I remember it was again. As I'm still busy doing that, do enjoy this short chapter :)

Bill started his journey back to Shirmey’s. The trip took a few days, many different people helping him to get there and a lot of miles by foot. But eventually he finally made it. The house was still standing proud although it could use some repairs.

The twins should have been conceived with one of the children, most likely one of the two boys. So he quietly approached the house, there wasn’t much going on in the house though. Once Bill peeked through the window, he noticed why.  
It was abandoned, by the looks of it since shortly after Bill must’ve checked up for the last time.

“Excuse me?” Bill jumped and almost had a heart attack when the voice behind him spoke up. When he turned around, there was an elderly lady standing in front of him.  
“Are you looking for the Pines family?”

“As a matter of fact I am, I’m…” Bill had to think for a split second, not letting the old woman notice his hesitation. “I’m a distant relative, much to my regret with some sad news.”

“I’m sorry, young man.”

“Please, call me Bill!” he interrupted her with some cheer.

“Ah, well, I’m sorry Bill. But I must send you back with tragic news then.” Bill’s heart fell to the ground with those words.  
“A stern winter was accompanied by serious illness. I’m afraid… the whole Pines family here has perished.” The blonde leaned back against the old house, how could this have happened?  
“If only they had been into medicine like the rest of the family, they might’ve made it.”

The former priest was lost, he had lost many years. He had only tracked this side of the family, never paid much mind to where Mabel’s children went off to.

“Please young man, you’ve come from far. Let me offer you a place to rest.”

“Uhm yes… that’d be very kind of you…” She noticed his distress and gently grabbed a hold of his elbow, making her way back to her house. They approached a small house with a little fence in the front.  
“My late husband made that fence when we just got married. It’s all I got left of the rascal.” The old woman laughed softly to herself. Bill could feel a warm glow coming from her, he could feel the love she still felt for the man. This was something new though. He was used to feeling people’s end nearing, but not this. The feeling was welcomed either way while he took a closer look at the fence when they passed it. Engravings decorated the wood and all kinds of figures seemed to dance along the lines.  
He would make such a fence for Mason once they found each other again.

The elder woman opened up the rather small door and they were welcomed into a hallway. There was an opening to the left and one to the right. On the right was also a door and at the end of the hallway was an opening which clearly lead to a staircase.  
She went through the opening on the left and Bill followed her. They were now in a small living room, two small couches and one big one. On the left was a window and there was a fireplace on the far end.

“Please, take a seat while I go make some tea.” She kindly offered before disappearing back through the opening into the other side of the hallway. The furniture looked rather old but they were all carved the same way like the fence was. Her husband must’ve made all the furniture himself, which was quite impressive. Bill did as he was told and took a seat on the big couch. The smaller ones were placed next to each other and seemed rather personal. The small one on the right had a small book on the armrest and the one on the left looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. The big couch and the two small ones were across from each other with a small table in between. She must’ve gotten a lot of visitors to rearrange her furniture in such way. Not much time had passed when the old lady came back.

“I hope you like green tea, dear.”

“Ofcourse, anything warm is very welcomed to be honest.” She placed the little tray with two cups on it on the table. After carefully taking one cup and placing it in front of Bill, she took the other and placed it in front of the small couch on the right. So Bill had been right.

“So tell me uh… so sorry dear but what was it again?” The blonde had been breathing in the soft aroma of the tea when he suddenly realized she had asked him a question.

“Oh! It’s Bill, pleased to meet you!” he tried to be cheery, it was hard knowing he had lost a big part of the family tree to follow but he tried. He had to.

“Ah, Bill. So what was the sad news you had for the Pines?”

“Uhm… well that their niece and her husband have passed.”

“Oh dear! You mean Mabel?” Bill was surprised by this.

“Yes… Did you know her?”

“Know her? She was one of my closest friends… Good dear, she helped me elope with my late husband back in the day.”

“This… takes me by surprise to be honest.”

“Well you do too dear! I don’t recall a family member by the name of Bill haha!” she seemed genuinely entertained.  
“So how about you tell me who you are? Then I tell you who I am. Sounds fair?” The blond was surprised, this old lady knew her stuff.

“I’m not a relative… I’m sorry for lying about that…” He apologized. “I was Gravity Fall’s priest and got close to the family shortly after they moved there.”

“So you’re the priest boy! I thought you looked familiar.”

“You seem to know a lot about them. You were close to Mabel too, does this mean you lived there or?”

“Father, do you truly not recognize me?”

“I’m really sorry to admit… But no.”

“Well, nice to meet you again father, I’m Pacifica Northwest.” Bill’s jaw completely dropped.  
“She helped me elope in the few days you were out of town, otherwise you might’ve known I lived here.”

He barely recognized the old lady in front of him. She was very pale and thin, it was a wonder she still lived through the winters. Yet, he didn’t have the feeling her end was near, which meant she still had quite some time to live. It was a miracle though, he always thought that the girl was older than the twins.

“I was born few years after the twins.” She said with a smile, which was met with a confused look from Bill.  
“I’m gifted as well, I get slight hinges of what a person is thinking of. You were wondering years, so I assumed you wondered about my age.”  
Bill had so many questions running through his mind, did she know about the practices? Did she know about the reincarnations? Did she know about his curse too? Could she help him find Mabel’s children to continue his search?

“Calm down there, questions are for tomorrow. Finish up your tea, father. An old woman likes to get in bed early.” They acted more familiar to each other from that moment on. Both quietly sipping on their tea but for the first time since a long time, Bill felt a little like home. This house, the fireplace, Pacifica. It all proved that all this was part of something bigger. And in that moment he believed, he knew, that everyone would come back once it was their turn. Everyone. When he slightly looked up, he could see Pacifica smiling softly. Whispering softly.

“Precisely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think of it, I appreciate constructive criticism :D


End file.
